Ben Jacobson

Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Northern Iowa Panthers
Current conference: Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)
Northern Iowa record: 354-233 (.603)
Overall record: 354-233 (.603)

Ben Scott Jacobson
Born December 16, 1970
Hometown: Mayville, North Dakota
Alma Mater: University of North Dakota (BA, 1994)
Named North Dakota Mr. Basketball in 1989 after a phenomenal prep career at Mayville-Portland HS
- Shares the same hometown as Hall of Fame college head coach Lute Olson
Played four years at (then Division II) North Dakota under head coach Rich Glas
- Was a two-time team captain at UND and became the school’s all-time assists leader by the end of his career
Became a student assistant under Glas at North Dakota in 1993, then was a graduate assistant for two seasons 1994-1996
Promoted to a full-time assistant position in 1996 at UND, keeping that role for four seasons
Spent six total seasons as an assistant to Greg McDermott, one at North Dakota State and five at Northern Iowa
Took over as UNI head coach in 2006 following McDermott‘s departure for Iowa State
- Led the Panthers to a surprise Sweet Sixteen spot in 2010, which included a 2nd round upset of #1 overall seed Kansas
- Reached the semifinals of the 2013 CIT, losing to Weber State one game shy of the title match-up
- His teams have won four MVC regular season titles and four MVC Tournaments, leading to four NCAA Tournament bids and two NITs
- In February 2021, Jacobson earned the 300th win of his career (all of which have been at UNI)
- Jacobson is the first five-time winner of the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year award